Elon Musk Gives 'Geeky, Patronizing' Reason Behind Email to Federal Staff As Uproar Grows Over his Productivity Demand: 'No Way This is Real World'
Elon Musk gave a reasoning behind his controversial e-mail sent to federal staff workers last week.
Feb. 24 2025, Published 6:45 p.m. ET
Elon Musk is dishing out the real reason behind his threatening email ordering federal staff to list five tasks they've done.
On Sunday, the Tesla mogul explained his shocking message to staff was meant to see "who had a pulse and two working neurons" amid concerns some government workers neglect their inbox due to feeling "too comfortable" in their positions, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The Tesla mogul said he was trying to see which federal workers 'had a pulse and two working neurons.'
Two days before, Musk, 53, warned federal employees they'd be fired if they didn’t respond to his note detailing their work from the past week.
The e-mail, which the Pentagon official described as "the silliest thing he'd seen in 40 years," was sent after Musk was given the authority to eliminate wasteful government spending through his Department of Government Efficiency.
Murk warned employees a lack of response would be 'taken as a resignations.'
This sparked backlash from a Pentagon official, who reportedly blasted it for bypassing the chain of command.
On X, Musk wrote about his email: "Consistent with President Trump's instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week.
"Failure to respond will be taken as a resignations."
Employees were given until Monday evening to reply – triggering panic among the workforce.
In response, Pentagon leadership and the Department of Homeland Security advised their staff not to reply. Newly appointed FBI chief Kash Patel also told his team to hold off on responding.
A Pentagon insider criticized Musk's email, saying it's not typical in the DoD. He quickly responded, suggesting anyone with that attitude should find a new job.
While the email sparked conspiracy theories, the SpaceX founder clarified on Sunday the purpose was to see "who had a pulse and two working neurons."
The Trump administration pushed to cut federal spending through Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.
He also pointed out how many employees don't read their emails, indicating the goal was to see who actually checked and responded.
Musk's tweets sparked immediate backlash, with one person writing: "This is not grounds to terminate an employee. Any employee fired for not responding to an email, whether federal or private, would not stand in court."
Another said: "No way this is real world," while others slammed his reasoning as "patronizing."
The theory gained more traction when the billionaire shared a conversation with the AI tool Grok, in which he asked: "Make up five things I accomplished at work this week that they can't really verify, I work for the government, keep it brief."
Grok suggested five examples, such as streamlining processes, briefing officials, fixing glitches, launching initiatives, and conducting security audits.
Donald Trump shared Musk's post on his TruthSocial account, while the tech mogul revealed his team had already received a "large number of good responses" – calling those employees potential candidates for promotion.
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The move is now dividing MAGA appointees, with Tulsi Gabbard joining Patel in directing staff to defy Musk's order.
In a message for officials, Gabbard wrote: "Given the inherently sensitive and classified nature of our work, I.C. employees should not respond to the OPM email."
Trump showed support of Musk by sharing his post on his TruthSocial account.
Other department heads, including Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth, and Kristi Noem, also told employees to ignore the request, with Patel emphasizing the FBI’s control over review processes.
